Life Sciences Commons^™

Identifying Possible Alternative Rodenticide Baits To Replace Strychnine Baits For Pocket Gophers In California, Gary W. Witmer, Roger A. Baldwin, Rachael S. Moulton

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Rodents cause substantial damage to crops in California and rodenticides have been major tools for reducing that damage. While strychnine has been heavily relied upon to control pocket gophers in California, its future availability is in question because of increased import costs. We conducted efficacy trials with captive, wild-caught Botta's pocket gophers to identify potential alternative rodenticides to strychnine. The rodenticide baits tested included three categories: acute rodenticides, first generation anticoagulant rodenticides, and combination rodenticides (containing an acute toxicant and an anticoagulant). There was a wide range of efficacies (0e100%) with these rodenticides. The first generation anticoagulants performed poorly, while …

Is It Time For Synthetic Biodiversity Conservation?, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Gernot Segelbacher, Philip J. Seddon, Luke Alphey, Elizabeth L. Bennett, Robert H. Carlson, Robert M. Friedman, Dona Kanavy, Ryan Phelan, Kent H. Redford, Marina Rosales, Lydia Slobodian, Keith Wheeler

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Evidence indicates that, despite some critical successes, current conservation approaches are not slowing the overall rate of biodiversity loss. The field of synthetic biology, which is capable of altering natural genomes with extremely precise editing, might offer the potential to resolve some intractable conservation problems (e.g., invasive species or pathogens). However, it is our opinion that there has been insufficient engagement by the conservation community with practitioners of synthetic biology. We contend that rapid, large-scale engagement of these two communities is urgently needed to avoid unintended and deleterious ecological consequences. To this point we describe case studies where synthetic biology …

An Evaluation Of The Use Of Pentosidine As A Biomarker For Ageing Turtles, John B. Iverson, Randal S. Stahl, Carol Furcolow, Fred Kraus

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Concentrations of the biomarker pentosidine have been shown to be useful measures of age for a number of avian and mammalian species. However, no study has examined its usefulness as an age marker in a long-lived ectotherm despite the fact that such a marker could prove useful in understanding age distributions of populations subject to conservation programmes. Therefore, we evaluated pentosidine concentrations in the interdigital webbing of 117 female yellow mud turtles (Kinosternon flavescens) at a 35 year study site in western Nebraska where nearly all turtles are of known age. Pentosidine concentrations were extraordinarily low and positively …

Effects Of Crop Type And Harvest On Nest Survival And Productivity Of Dickcissels In Semi-Natural Grasslands, Tara J. Conkling, Jerrold L. Belant, Travis L. Devault, James A. Martin

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Recent focus on climate change and global energy production has increased interest in developing biofuels including perennial native grasses (e.g. switchgrass [Panicum virgatum]) as viable energy commodities while simultaneously maintaining ecosystem function and biodiversity. However, there is limited research examining the effects of biofuel-focused grasslands on grassland bird reproductive success and conservation. In 2011–2013 we studied the effects of vegetation composition and harvest regimens of switchgrass monocultures and native warm-season grass (NWSG) mixtures on nest success, nest density, and productivity for dickcissels (Spiza americana) in Clay Co. MS, USA. There was no effect of vegetation metrics, …

Management And Modeling Approaches For Controlling Raccoon Rabies: The Road To Elimination, Stacey A. Elmore, Richard B. Chipman, Dennis Slate, Kathryn P. Huyvaert, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Amy T. Gilbert

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Rabies is an ancient viral disease that significantly impacts human and animal health throughout the world. In the developing parts of the world, dog bites represent the highest risk of rabies infection to people, livestock, and other animals. However, in North America, where several rabies virus variants currently circulate in wildlife, human contact with the raccoon rabies variant leads to the highest per capita population administration of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) annually. Previous rabies variant elimination in raccoons (Canada), foxes (Europe), and dogs and coyotes (United States) demonstrates that elimination of the raccoon variant from the eastern US is feasible, given …

Uncovering Behavioural States From Animal Activity And Site Fidelity Patterns, Peter J. Mahoney, Julie K. Young

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

1. Space use by animals has important implications for individual fitness. However, resource requirements often vary throughout the course of a lifetime and are a reflection of the demands associated with daily tasks or specific life-history phases, from food acquisition to reproduction, and emphasize the need to classify resource selection relative to specific behavioural states. Site fidelity is often indicative of behaviours important for individual maintenance (e.g. foraging), species’ life history (e.g. seasonal site selection), social communication (e.g. scent-marking) and species interactions (e.g. predation, competition). Thus, resolving site fidelity patterns associated with key behaviours is essential to accurately quantify behavioural-dependent …

Impact Of Body Condition On Influenza A Virus Infection Dynamics In Mallards Following A Secondary Exposure, Nicholas G. Dannemiller, Colleen T. Webb, Kenneth R. Wilson, Kevin T. Bentler, Nicole L. Mooers, Jeremy W. Ellis, J. Jeffrey Root, Alan B. Franklin, Susan A. Shriner

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Migratory waterfowl are often viewed as vehicles for the global spread of influenza A viruses (IAVs), with mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) implicated as particularly important reservoir hosts. The physical demands and energetic costs of migration have been shown to influence birds' body condition; poorer body condition may suppress immune function and affect the course of IAV infection. Our study evaluated the impact of body condition on immune function and viral shedding dynamics in mallards naturally exposed to an H9 IAV, and then secondarily exposed to an H4N6 IAV. Mallards were divided into three treatment groups of 10 birds per …

The Rise Of Double-Crested Cormorants, Brian S. Dorr, Dave Fielder

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

For centuries, people have viewed cormorants negatively. In classical literature, the word cormorant represented greed and gluttony. However, natural resource professionals have long recognized the ecological value of all wildlife, and cormorants are no exception. For example, as an upper trophic-level predator in aquatic systems, cormorants are useful indicators of environmental pollution and may contribute to limiting invasive prey populations.

But over the last 40 years a major surge in the population of the double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) — a large, long-lived, fish-eating water bird and one of six species of North American cormorants — has led to …

Picky Eaters Are Rare: Dna-Based Blood Meal Analysis Of Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) Species From The United States, Matthew W. Hopken, Bonnie M. Ryan, Kathryn P. Huyvaert, Antoinette J. Piaggio

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Background: Biting midges in the genus Culicoides (Diptera; Ceratopogonidae) have been implicated in the transmission of a number of parasites and highly pathogenic viruses. In North America, the complete transmission cycles of many of these pathogens need further elucidation. One way to increase our knowledge about the evolution and ecology of Culicoides species and the pathogens they transmit is to document the diversity of vertebrate hosts that Culicoides feed upon. Our objective was to identify the diversity of Culicoides hosts in the United States.

Results: We sequenced two vertebrate mitochondrial genes (cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 and cytochrome b) from …

Bird Use Of Grain Fields And Implications For Habitat Management At Airports, Raymond B. Iglay, Bruce N. Buckingham, Thomas W. Seamans, James A. Martin, Bradley F. Blackwell, Jerrold L. Belant, Travis L. Devault

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Airport properties often include agricultural land cover that can attract wildlife species hazardous to aircraft, despite recommendations against row crops near air operations areas. However, few studies have directly quantified bird use of corn, wheat, and soybean fields relative to bird-aircraft collision (strike) hazard levels to support land cover recommendations. Therefore, we compared bird use among corn, wheat and soybean fields and predicted that corn and wheat would attract bird species recognized as hazardous to aviation. We also anticipated that soybeans would pose minimal attraction to such birds. Here, hazard ranking (low to extremely high) reflects the percentage of strikes …

Temporal Development Of Gut Microbiota In Triclocarban Exposed Pregnant And Neonatal Rats, Rebekah C. Kennedy, Russell R. Fling, Michael S. Robeson, Arnold M. Saxton, Robert L. Donnell, John L. Darcy, David A. Bemis, Jiang Liu, Ling Zhao, Jiangang Chen

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Alteration of gut microbial colonization process may influence susceptibility of the newborn/infant to infectious and chronic disease. Infectious disease risk leads to widespread use of non-prescription antimicrobials in household products such as Triclocarban (TCC), an antimicrobial compound in personal care products. TCC concentrates in and is transferred through the milk to suckling offspring. TCC exposure during gestation and lactation significantly reduced phylogenetic diversity (PD) among exposed dams and neonates. Among dams using weighted UniFrac distances, TCC induced significant dysbiosis of gut microbiota by gestational day (GD) 18, a trend that continued after delivery. Similarly, an overall restructuring of gut microbiota …

Diazacon Reduces Black-Tailed Prairie Dog Reproduction In Colorado, Christi A. Yoder, Richard E. Mauldin, James P. Gionfriddo, Kenneth A. Crane, David A. Goldade, Richard M. Engeman

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Context. Black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomus ludovicianus) often come into conflict with humans in urban natural areas adjacent to private property by destroying plants and denuding the landscape. There is a diversity of attitudes related to urban prairie dog management in Colorado and interest in non-lethal methods is increasing. Therefore, the development of non-lethal methods that allow the existence of prairie dogs and mitigate damage related to population density is needed.

Aims. The efficacy of DiazaCon (20,25-diazacholesterol dihydrochloride, a cholesterol analogue) as an oral contraceptive bait for reducing reproduction in black-tailed prairie dogs was tested. Persistence of DiazaCon in …

Reprint Of: Overview Of Avian Toxicity Studies For The Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment, S. J. Bursian, C. R. Alexander, D. Cacela, Fred L. Cunningham, K. M. Dean, B. S. Dorr, C. K. Ellis, Céline A.J. Godard-Codding, C. G. Guglielmo, K. C. Hanson-Dorr, K. E. Harr, K. Healy, Michael J. Hooper, K. E. Horak, John P. Isanhart, L. V. Kennedy, J. E. Link, I. Maggini, J. K. Moye, C. R. Perez, C. A. Pritsos, Susan A. Shriner, K. A. Trust, P. L. Tuttle

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 establishes liability for injuries to natural resources because of the release or threat of release of oil. Assessment of injury to natural resources resulting from an oil spill and development and implementation of a plan for the restoration, rehabilitation, replacement or acquisition of natural resources to compensate for those injuries is accomplished through the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) process. The NRDA process began within a week of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which occurred on April 20, 2010. During the spill, more than 8500 dead and impaired birds representing at least 93 avian …

Development Of Methods For Avian Oil Toxicity Studies Using The Double Crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax Auritus), Fred L. Cunningham, Karen Dean, Katie C. Hanson-Dorr, Kendal Harr, Kate Healy, Katherine E. Horak, Jane Link, Susan A. Shriner, Steve J. Bursian, Brian S, Dorr

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Oral and external dosing methods replicating field exposure were developed using the double crested cormorant (DCCO) to test the toxicity of artificially weathered Deepwater Horizon Mississippi Canyon 252 oil. The majority of previous oil dosing studies conducted on wild-caught birds used gavage methods to dose birds with oil and determine toxicity. However, rapid gut transit time of gavaged oil likely reduces oil absorption. In the present studies, dosing relied on injection of oil into live feeder fish for oral dosing of these piscivorous birds, or applying oil to body contour feathers resulting in transdermal oil exposure and oral exposure through …

Dermal Exposure To Weathered Mc252 Crude Oil Results In Echocardiographically Identifiable Systolic Myocardial Dysfunction In Double-Crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax Auritus), K. E. Harr, M. Rishniw, T. L. Rupp, D. Cacela, K. M. Dean, B. S. Dorr, K. C. Hanson-Dorr, K. Healy, K. E. Horak, J. E. Link, D. Reavill, S. J. Bursian, Fred L. Cunningham

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

During the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment, gross morphologic cardiac abnormalities, including softer, more distensible musculature, were noted upon gross necropsy in hearts from laughing gulls and double-crested cormorants exposed to weathered MC252 crude oil. A species specific, echocardiographic technique was developed for antemortem evaluation of function that was used to evaluate and better characterize cardiac dysfunction. Control (n=12) and treated (n=13) cormorant groups of similar sex-ratio and ages were dermally treated with approximately 13 ml of water or weathered MC252 crude oil, respectively, every 3 days for 6 dosages. This resulted in a low to moderate external exposure. …

Reprint Of: Cyp1a Protein Expression And Catalytic Activity In Double-Crested Cormorants Experimentally Exposed To Deepwater Horizon Mississippi Canyon 252 Oil, Courtney R. Alexander, Michael J. Hooper, Dave Cacela, Kim D. Smelker, Caleshia S. Calvin, Karen M. Dean, Steve J. Bursian, Fred L. Cunningham, Katie C. Hanson-Dorr, Katherine E. Horak, John P. Isanhart, Jane Link, Susan A. Shriner, Céline A.J. Godard-Codding

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus, DCCO) were orally exposed to Deepwater Horizon Mississippi Canyon 252 (DWH) oil to investigate oil-induced toxicological impacts. Livers were collected for multiple analyses including cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) enzymatic activity and protein expression. CYP1A enzymatic activity was measured by alkoxyresorufin O-dealkylase (AROD) assays. Activities specific to the O-dealkylation of four resorufin ethers are reported: benzyloxyresorufin O-debenzylase (BROD), ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD), methoxyresorufin O-demethylase (MROD), and pentoxyresorufin O-depentylase (PROD). CYP1A protein expression was measured by western blot analysis with a CYP1A1 mouse monoclonal antibody. In study 1, hepatic BROD, EROD, and PROD activities were significantly induced in …

Weathered Mc252 Crude Oil-Induced Anemia And Abnormal Erythroid Morphology In Double-Crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax Auritus) With Light Microscopic And Ultrastructural Description Of Heinz Bodies, K. E. Harr, Fred L. Cunningham, Chris A. Pritsos, Karen L. Pritsos, Thivanka Muthumalage, Brian S. Dorr, Katherine E. Horak, Katie C. Hanson-Dorr, Karen M. Dean, Dave Cacela, Andrew K. Mcfadden, Jane E. Link, Katherine A. Healy, Pete Tuttle, Steven J. Bursian

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Injury assessment of birds following the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in 2010 was part of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment. One reported effect was hemolytic anemia with the presence of Heinz bodies (HB) in birds, however, the role of route and magnitude of exposure to oil is unknown. The purpose of the present study was to determine if double-crested cormorants (Phalacocorax auritis; DCCO) exposed orally and dermally to artificially weathered crude oil would develop hemolytic anemia including HB and reticulocytosis. In the oral experiment, sub-adult, mixed-sex DCCOs were fed control (n = 8) or oil–injected fish with …

Organ Weights And Histopathology Of Double-Crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax Auritus) Dosed Orally Or Dermally With Artificially Weathered Mississippi Canyon 252 Crude Oil, K. E. Harr, Drury R. Reavill, Steven J. Bursian, Dave Cacela, Fred L. Cunningham, Karen M. Dean, Brian S. Dorr, Katie C. Hanson-Dorr, Kate Healy, Katherine E. Horak, Jane E. Link, Susan A. Shriner, Robert E. Schmidt

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

A series of toxicity tests were conducted to assess the effects of low to moderate exposure to artificially weathered Deepwater Horizon Mississippi Canyon 252 crude oil on representative avian species as part of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment. The present report summarizes effects of oral exposure (n=26) of double crested cormorants (DCCO; Phalacrocorax auritus) to 5 or 10 ml oil kg⁻¹ day⁻¹ for up to 21 days or dermal application (n=25) of 13 ml oil to breast and back feathers every three days totaling 6 applications in 21 days on organ weights and histopathology. Absolute and relative …

Dietary Intake Of Deepwater Horizon Oil-Injected Live Food Fish By Doublecrested Cormorants Resulted In Oxidative Stress, Karen L. Pritsos, Cristina R. Perez, Thivanka Muthumalage, Karen M. Dean, Dave Cacela, K. C. Hanson-Dorr, Fred L. Cunningham, S. J. Bursian, Jane E. Link, Susan A. Shriner, Katherine E. Horak, C. A. Pritsos

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill released 134 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico making it the largest oil spill in US history and exposing fish, birds, and marine mammals throughout the Gulf of Mexico to its toxicity. Fish eating waterbirds such as the double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) were exposed to the oil both by direct contact with the oil and orally through preening and the ingestion of contaminated fish. This study investigated the effects of orally ingestedMC252 oil-contaminated live fish food by double-crested cormorants on oxidative stress. Total, reduced, and oxidized glutathione levels, superoxide …

Us Feral Swine Were Exposed To Both Avian And Swine Influenza A Viruses, Brigitte E. Martin, Hailiang Sun, Margaret Carrel, Fred L. Cunningham, John A. Baroch, Katie C. Hanson-Dorr, Sean G. Young, Brandon S. Schmit, Jacqueline M. Nolting, Kyoung-Jin Yoon, Mark W. Lutman, Kerri Pedersen, Kelly Lager, Andrew S. Bowman, Richard D. Slemons, David R. Smith, Thomas J. Deliberto, Xiu-Feng Wan

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Influenza A viruses (IAVs) in swine can cause sporadic infections and pandemic outbreaks among humans, but how avian IAV emerges in swine is still unclear. Unlike domestic swine, feral swine are free ranging and have many opportunities for IAV exposure through contacts with various habitats and animals, including migratory waterfowl, a natural reservoir for IAVs. During 2010–2013, 8,239 serum samples were collected from feral swine across 35 US states and tested against 45 contemporary antigenic variants of avian, swine, and human IAVs; of these, 406 (4.9%) samples were IAV-antibody positive. Among 294 serum samples selected for antigenic characterization, 271 cross-reacted …

Using Risk Prediction Models And Species Sensitivity Maps For Large-Scale Identification Of Infrastructure-Related Wildlife Protection Areas: The Case Of Bird Electrocution, Juan Manuel Pérez-García, Travis L. Devault, Francisco Botella, José Antonio Sánchez-Zapata

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The use of systematic area-selection procedures to design protected areas can help optimize conservation actions. However, this process has rarely been used to identify high-risk mortality areas to protect wildlife from human impacts. Electrocution on power lines is one the most important human-related causes of bird mortality worldwide, especially for raptors. Identifying and correcting dangerous individual pylons can significantly reduce the number of electrocution victims, but applying this procedure at a large spatial scale is impractical. In this paper we describe a new selection process that allows for identification of high-risk mortality areas at large scales, combining spatial electrocution risk …

Predicting Spatial Spread Of Rabies In Skunk Populations Using Surveillance Data Reported By The Public, Kim M. Pepin, Amy J. Davis, Daniel G. Streicker, Justin W. Fischer, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Amy T. Gilbert

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Background - Prevention and control of wildlife disease invasions relies on the ability to predict spatio-temporal dynamics and understand the role of factors driving spread rates, such as seasonality and transmission distance. Passive disease surveillance (i.e., case reports by public) is a common method of monitoring emergence of wildlife diseases, but can be challenging to interpret due to spatial biases and limitations in data quantity and quality.

Methodology/Principal findings- We obtained passive rabies surveillance data from dead striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) in an epizootic in northern Colorado, USA. We developed a dynamic patch-occupancy model which predicts spatio-temporal spreading …

Rabies Virus Antibodies From Oral Vaccination As A Correlate Of Protection Against Lethal Infection In Wildlife, Susan M. Moore, Amy Gilbert, Ad Vos, Conrad M. Freuling, Christine K. Ellis, Jeannette Kliemt, Thomas Müller

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Both cell-mediated and humoral immune effectors are important in combating rabies infection, although the humoral response receives greater attention regarding rabies prevention. The principle of preventive vaccination has been adopted for strategies of oral rabies vaccination (ORV) of wildlife reservoir populations for decades to control circulation of rabies virus in free-ranging hosts. There remains much debate about the levels of rabies antibodies (and the assays to measure them) that confer resistance to rabies virus. In this paper, data from published literature and our own unpublished animal studies on the induction of rabies binding and neutralizing antibodies following oral immunization of …

Towards Canine Rabies Elimination In Cebu, Philippines: Assessment Of Health Economic Data, L. M. Miranda, M. E. Miranda, B. Hatch, R. Deray, S. A. Shwiff, M. C. Roces, C. E. Rupprecht

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Rabies is endemic in the Philippines. In 2010, with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a canine rabies elimination project was initiated in the Philippine Archipelago of Visayan. We conducted an analysis of dog vaccination and human PEP costs for dog bite patients in a highly urbanized area and a low-income rural municipality in Cebu Province, Philippines, from 2010 to 2012. Our findings indicated that eliminating rabies in dogs through mass vaccination is more cost-effective than treating rabies exposures in humans. The average costs (in USD) per human life saved through PEP were $1620.28 in Cebu City and …

An Assessment Of Radiative Heating As A Thermal Treatment For Invasive Snakes In Cargo, Fred Kraus, Randal S. Stahl, William Pitt

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis) is invasive in Guam and presents a continuous threat of accidental export to new islands in outbound cargo. Current attempts to avoid that scenario rely primarily on canine teams to inspect outbound cargo and vehicles. In prior work, we showed that thermal fumigation could effectively elicit snake exit of cargo under conditions when free flow of air streams is feasible, but this method cannot work with tightly packed cargo. Here we show radiative heating can effectively induce snake exit from cargo refuges at temperatures of 44–48 C; however, we find passive solar …

Development Of Known-Fate Survival Monitoring Techniques For Juvenile Wild Pigs (Sus Scrofa), David A. Keiter, John C. Kilgo, Mark A. Vukovich, Fred L. Cunningham, James C. Beasley

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Context. Wild pigs are an invasive species linked to numerous negative impacts on natural and anthropogenic ecosystems in many regions of the world. Robust estimates of juvenile wild pig survival are needed to improve population dynamics models to facilitate management of this economically and ecologically important invasive species. Despite this critical knowledge gap, to date no successful known-fate study of wild piglet survival (age) has been conducted, due to a lack of appropriate method for this species.

Aims. To aid in locating and tagging neonates, we piloted the use of vaginal implant transmitters (VITs) in adult wild pigs and …

Quantifying Drivers Of Wild Pig Movement Across Multiple Spatial And Temporal Scales, Shannon L. Kay, Justin W. Fischer, Andrew J. Monaghan, James C. Beasley, Raoul Boughton, Tyler A. Campbell, Susan M. Cooper, Stephen S. Ditchkoff, Steve B. Hartley, John C. Kilgo, Samantha M. Wisely, A. Christy Wyckoff, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Kim M. Pepin

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Background: The movement behavior of an animal is determined by extrinsic and intrinsic factors that operate at multiple spatio-temporal scales, yet much of our knowledge of animal movement comes from studies that examine only one or two scales concurrently. Understanding the drivers of animal movement across multiple scales is crucial for understanding the fundamentals of movement ecology, predicting changes in distribution, describing disease dynamics, and identifying efficient methods of wildlife conservation and management.

Methods: We obtained over 400,000 GPS locations of wild pigs from 13 different studies spanning six states in southern U.S.A., and quantified movement rates and home …

Use Of Fecal Volatile Organic Compound Analysis To Discriminate Between Nonvaccinated And Bcg-Vaccinated Cattle Prior To And After Mycobacterium Bovis Challenge, Christine K. Ellis, Somchai Rice, Devin Maurer, Randal S. Stahl, W. Ray Waters, Mitchell V. Palmer, Pauline Nol, Jack C. Rhyan, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Jacek A. Koziel

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Bovine tuberculosis is a zoonotic disease of global public health concern. Development of diagnostic tools to improve test accuracy and efficiency in domestic livestock and enable surveillance of wildlife reservoirs would improve disease management and eradication efforts. Use of volatile organic compound analysis in breath and fecal samples is being developed and optimized as a means to detect disease in humans and animals. In this study we demonstrate that VOCs present in fecal samples can be used to discriminate between non-vaccinated and BCG-vaccinated cattle prior to and after Mycobacterium bovis challenge.

Winter And Summer Home Ranges Of American White Pelicans (Pelecanus Erythrorhynchos) Captured At Loafing Sites In The Southeastern United States, D. Tommy King, Justin W. Fischer, Bronson K. Strickland, W. David Walter, Fred L. Cunningham, Guiwang Wang

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Satellite telemetry was used to investigate summer and winter home ranges for resident and migrant American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) captured in the southeastern United States between 2002 and 2007. Home range utilization distributions were calculated using 50% and 95% kernel density estimators with the plug-in bandwidth selector. Mean summer home ranges (95%) varied from 177 to 4,710 km² and mean winter home ranges (95%) ranged from 185 to 916 km². Mean 50% and 95% home ranges of adult American White Pelicans during summer tended to be larger than those during winter, whereas mean 50% and …

Control Of Invasive Rats On Islands And Priorities For Future Action, Quiterie Duron, Aaron B. Shiels, Eric Vidal

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Invasive rats are one of the world’s most successful animal groups that cause native species extinctions and ecosystem change, particularly on islands. On large islands, rat eradication is often impossible and population control, defined as the local limitation of rat abundance, is now routinely performed on many of the world’s islands as an alternative management tool. However, a synthesis of the motivations, techniques, costs, and outcomes of such rat-control projects is lacking. We reviewed the literature, searched relevant websites, and conducted a survey via a questionnaire to synthesize the available information on rat-control projects in island natural areas worldwide to …